Sapphire has released a new R7 265 graphics card, the Sapphire R7 265 Dual-X, which will feature the new and improved Dual-X cooler.

Based on the AMD 28nm Curacao GPU, the R7 265 packs 1024 Stream Processors, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and comes with 2GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 256-bit memory interface. It is practically the same as the previously available Radeon HD 7850 graphics card so it makes sense for partners to bring out same designs which we have seen on the HD 7850, as it is the case with the new Sapphire R7 265 Dual-X.

Apparently, Sapphire stuck to reference GPU clocks of 900MHz base and 925MHz Boost, while the 2GB of GDDR5 memory ended up clocked at 5600MHz. It comes with two DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs and should provide much lower temeperatures thanks to Sapphire's Dual-X cooler with aerofoil fans and graduated heatpipes.

Unfortunately, Sapphire did not shed any light regarding the price or the precise availability date.

AMD has officially released its new Radeon R7 265 graphics card based on 28nm Curacao GPU, which should fill the gap between AMD's R7 260X and the R9 270 and also put a bit more pressure on Nvidia's upcoming mainstream Geforce GTX 750 series graphics cards based on Maxwell GPU architecture.

As rumored earlier, the Radeon R7 265 is based on AMD's 28nm Curacao GPU. It packs 1024 Stream Processors, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and comes with 2GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 256-bit memory interface. In case you have not already noticed, the new R7 265 is quite similar to the previously available Radeon HD 7850 graphics card.

According to AMD, the new Radeon R7 265 will have a US $149.99 price tag puts it between the US $139 R7 260X and the US $179 priced R9 270. In order to position the mainstream graphics card lineup a bit better, it appears that AMD has also dropped the price of the R7 260X down to US $119.99 which gives it additional breathing room and also makes the new R7 265 a bit more interesting.

Unfortunately for AMD, Nvidia is not sitting idle either and its upcoming GTX 750 series graphics cards based on the new Maxwell architecture will put a lot of pressure on AMD's mainstream lineup.

In addition to the recently announced Radeon R7 250X graphics card, AMD is allegedly preparing two more graphics cards, the R7 265 and the R9 280, based on the Curacao GPU and the well known Tahiti GPU.

The information comes from Chinese VR-Zone and the R7 265 will be based on Curacao GPU, one behind both the R9 270 and the R9 270X graphics card, and not the expected Bonaire GPU which is behind the R7 260 series graphics cards. We will be looking at a cut-down version of the Curacao GPU which will end up with 1024 Stream Processors, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs and a 256-bit memory interface paired up with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, most likely. The GPU should end up clocked at around 900MHz while the memory will work at 4.8GHz.

The Radeon R9 280 will be based on the good old Tahiti GPU and it will be quite similar to the previously release HD 7950 graphics card. It will pack 1792 Stream Processors, 112 TMUs, 32 ROPs and a 384-bit memory interface paired up with 3GB of GDDR5 memory. The GPU is expected to be clocked at over 800MHz while memory should end up at 5.0GHz.

The R7 265 is expected to fit well in the lower mid-range segment with a price tag of around US $149 to US $159 while the R9 280 should fit below R9 280X which is still a US $299 graphics card, at least on paper, so hopefully, we will see the R9 280 at around US $249.

Unfortunately, the precise date of the release is not revealed but we suspect that we might hear something about them around Cebit show in March.

AMD’s new Radeons are just weeks away, but the company disappointed quite a few fans by refusing to reveal the exact specs of its R7 and R9 cards at the Hawaii event. All we know for sure are a few prices, the memory size and a single official benchmark result per card.

However, although AMD wasn’t very specific, Radeon boss Matt Skynner duly noted that AMD's R7 cards are basically better than anything the competition has at this point, both in terms of pricing and bang for buck. Skynner wouldn’t be writing cheques AMD’s new cards can’t cash, so let’s take a look at what might be about to happen in the mid-range and low-end.

The R7 250 launches with a $89 price tag and it is basically a plain Oland card. R7 260X is $139 and in all likelihood it is a Bonaire XT/XTX card, while the R9 270X is the Curacao XT, priced at $199. This also leaves room for a Curacao Pro card, priced somewhere in between.

Nvidia’s line-up in the sub-$200 segment doesn’t look very impressive at all, just multiple flavours of ageing 600-series products. Even if we look a notch higher, the $249 GTX 760 doesn’t have a direct competitor, unless the cheaper R7 270X can beat it, but even if it can’t a potential R9 280 based on the venerable Tahiti Pro chip could.

Defending the $199 line, Nvidia has the GTX 660 2GB, while the ageing GTX 650 sits at the $99 mark. In between there’s a mix of GTX 650Ti Boost and plain GTX 650 OC cards with 1GB or 2GB of memory.

Nvidia AIBs will clearly face a lot of pressure in all segments covered by the R7 series, be they entirely new products or tweaked rebrands. Digitimes is reporting that graphics card players are already pressuring Nvidia to slash some prices and possibly even introduce one or two new products in the $149 to $249 range. The question is what? Another couple of GK104 and GK106 cards just won’t do it and cutting prices to counter the R7 series seems to be the only option, with everything it entails. Meanwhile, AMD still has a couple of products to introduce, two Oland and Curacao boards.

It’s starting to look like a cold, long winter for Nvidia in the mid-range, never mind the R9.

Now for a small digression. The R7 Semyorka was the world’s first ICBM. It carried Sputnik into orbit and it caused quite an arms race, not a price war. Khrushchev boasted that the USSR was rolling them out like sausages. A few years later U2 over-flights revealed the truth – only four fully functional R7 launch sites were ever constructed. The “missile gap” arms build-up cost US taxpayers billions and it was all for nothing, as much of the new weapons deigned to combat the Red menace were obsolete as soon as they rolled off the assembly line.

If Nvidia is forced to slash prices on practically all of its non-GK110 line-up, the move could end up costing its shareholders a pretty penny, too. What’s more, without proper new products, the cuts might be in vain.